Former BU great Chet Walker to be inducted into the Basketball HOF

The title of Chet Walker’s 17-year-old autobiography, “A Long Time Coming,” could well apply to the latest milestone in the Bradley basketball all-American’s life.

Dave Reynolds

The title of Chet Walker’s 17-year-old autobiography, “A Long Time Coming,” could well apply to the latest milestone in the Bradley basketball all-American’s life.

Thirty-seven years after Walker retired from a glorious 13-season NBA career that included seven All-Star Game appearances, a lifetime scoring average of 18.2 points and a prominent role on one of the league’s greatest teams in history, he will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., this week.

Eligible since 1980, Walker, now 72, is a selection from the Hall’s Veterans Committee.

“If you look at who’s in there and compare my statistics to some of them, certainly I should have been in a long time ago,” Walker said in a phone interview with the Journal Star. “I’m disappointed, not only for myself, but for a lot of close friends and my brothers who aren’t alive now.

“They were alive 25 years ago, and I think they would have enjoyed coming there and celebrating with me. That’s what’s disappointing.”

Still, Walker, a lifelong bachelor who has lived in the Los Angeles area for decades, will be attending the ceremony and has his speech planned. He’ll be joined by several former NBA teammates and friends — Clifford Ray, Bob Love, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe and ex-Philadelphia teammate Billy Cunningham, who is Walker’s presenter. Isiah Thomas, whose impoverished mother was the subject of an Emmy-winning documentary produced by Walker, will also be there to lend his support.

As will Bradley president Joanne Glasser.

“Bradley followers have recalled for decades the impact Chet Walker had on Bradley basketball and the Peoria area,” Glasser said. “Being enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame confirms his status as one of the all-time greats in the history of the game. I look forward to congratulating Chet personally in Springfield.”

NBA activist

What kept Walker out of the Hall of Fame for so long?

The short unofficial answer is Walker was an activist who likely made enemies in the game. Unlike the Baseball Hall of Fame, which is voted upon by baseball journalists (for the first 15 years of eligibility) and past Hall of Famers thereafter, the basketball election process is much more secretive and subject to politics.

A union representative during his six years with the Bulls, Walker’s playing career ended prematurely when he sued the NBA and the Bulls for violation of federal antitrust laws.

Walker and Chicago couldn’t agree on a contract deal after the 1975 season, and the club refused to trade or release him. So Walker sued and ended up losing the case.

Despite coming off a season in which he averaged 19.2 points per game, he would not play again. His career was over at age 35.

“The Bulls owner, Arthur Wirtz, told me the lawsuit would ruin the game,” Walker said. “He told me I would never play in the league again. Basically, I thought I was a free agent and they didn’t.”

While free agency would come to the NBA, it arrived too late for Walker, who was to basketball what Curt Flood was to baseball.

“What Chet did wasn’t very popular with the owners, and he didn’t get the support he might have gotten otherwise,” said former Bradley coach Joe Stowell, who recruited Walker to BU as an assistant. “That’s a big factor in why it took so long for him to get in the Hall of Fame. But he deserves to be there. What he did at Bradley and in the NBA as a basketball player shows he deserves to be in.”

One of Bradley’s finest

What Chester Walker did at Bradley was legendary.

The 6-foot-7 forward was a two-time consensus all-American at Bradley. He finished his three-year varsity career as Bradley’s all-time leading scorer with 1,975 points, an average of 24.4 per game.

That’s just one-tenth of a point behind Curtis Stuckey’s school mark of 24.5, which is a less impressive standard since it was accomplished in 30 fewer games.

On top of his scoring, Walker still holds the Bradley per-game career rebounding record of 12.8. He led the Braves to the 1960 NIT championship and a top 10 national ranking for nearly his entire three-year varsity career, in which Bradley went 69-14.

“Chester was one of the finest basketball players ever at Bradley,” said his BU coach, 94-year-old Chuck Orsborn. “He could shoot from outside, he could pass, he could dunk quite easily, he was an excellent rebounder. Bradley was very fortunate he chose Bradley.”

Overall, Walker said, he had a positive experience on the Hilltop.

“I wouldn’t do it (over) any other way,” he said. “I got a good quality education there, and I enjoyed my time there. I’ve got a real special feeling for the town.”

Dealing with racism

It was a coming-of-age time for a young man who entered college, by his own admission, quite shy and insecure.

“When I came to Bradley, I was out of my element,” he said. “I grew up in the segregated South in Mississippi. When I was nine, we moved to Benton Harbor (Mich.) and lived in projects that were all African-American.

“So I felt out of place socially in Peoria. But being at Bradley for four years help me mature a lot. There were some interesting times there.”

Many included dealing with America’s racism of the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly on road trips to the south.

There were plenty of incidents in which Walker and his black BU teammates were refused service at restaurants and hotels. The white Braves would either bring them food, the group would find another restaurant, or the team would seek other lodging.

Ken Goldin, the recently retired longtime Bradley business manager, went to college at BU with Walker. Since both were from Benton Harbor, Walker once caught a ride back home with Goldin and Goldin’s roommate.

“When we crossed over into Indiana, we pulled into a gas station,” Goldin said. “Some guy with a toothpick came out and asked what we wanted. He started to put gas in, but recognized Chet as a black and wouldn’t fill the car.

“It was the first time I’d seen prejudice that way. Chet was so humble and appreciative back then, he wouldn’t get out of the car. When we got near his house in Benton Harbor, he had us let him off at an intersection because he was embarrassed by where he lived.”

Suffering through such overt racism primed Walker for what lie ahead on America’s domestic horizon in the 1960s.

“When I was in school (racism) didn’t bother me that much,” Walker said. “But later, I thought about being an all-American basketball player that everybody knew, but I couldn’t get served in restaurants.

“After I got out of school, I got involved with civil rights stuff,” Walker said. “That didn’t set well with a lot of people, but that’s the way it was. I’ve always been political.”

Thus, the honor of the Basketball Hall of Fame induction has been long delayed.

“I haven’t received any support from either the 76ers or the Bulls as far as pushing me into the Hall of Fame,” Walker said. “It’s like they disregarded me for some reason. But I’m glad I’m finally getting in.”

Dave Reynolds can be reached at 686-3210 or dreynolds@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @davereynolds2.